The Statesman, India
June 21 2005

Victoria clings to Charnock legacy

Mathures Paul
in Kolkata

June 20. – The Calcutta High Court might have changed history books,
removing Job Charnock ‘s name as the city’s founder, but Victoria
Memorial is yet to get away from the colonial hangover. In the sound
and light show, held on its premises every evening, it still claims
Charnock to be the founder of Kolkata and retains 24 August 1690 as
the birthday of the city. It maintains that three villages –
Sutanuti, Govindapur and Kolikata – were purchased by Charnock from
Sabarno Roy Chowdhury for Rs 1,300.

`I’m aware of the mistakes but a substantial amount of money and
expertise is required to make the necessary changes. We have spoken
to the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and during the monsoon, when the
show will not be held, necessary changes will be made. Kolkatans will
get to experience a new version of the show in October,’ says Mr
Panda, curator of Victoria Memorial.

A landmark judgment hammered out by the High Court a couple of years
back stated that Kolkata existed much before Charnock. Although the
programme admits that the Armenians arrived before Charnock, it still
considers Britishers to be the founder of Kolkata. The show makes no
mention of the grave of Rezabeebeh, wife of the late Sookias, who
died in 1630, to establish the arrival of the Armenians before the
Englishmen. The initiative to establish that people lived here much
before Charnock’s arrival was taken by former MP Mr Ajit Kumar Panja.
The popularity of the show seems to be decreasing, for much of the
chairs remain vacant on weekdays. Though the show features an
excellent combination of light and sound with the Raj as the
backdrop, it speaks little about post-Independence days and events
like the Emergency period, Naxalite movement and so on. Even events
like the 1857 uprising, formation of Congress and the birth of Indian
Museum have been left out. While celebrities like Rabindranath
Tagore, Netaji, Swami Vivekanada and others find place in the show,
Mother Teresa, V Balsara, Amartya Sen and Saurav Ganguly are still
waiting in the wings. Also missing is the fact that the first
recording of human voice in the country was done here in the city in
1902 on behalf of the Gramophone Company by Fredrick William
Gaisberg.

`Since the show was produced quite sometime back, Amartya Sen and
Sourav Ganguly have not been featured. The October version will
feature important personalities from the city,’ adds Mr Panda.

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